From goblins to gobbling

It was a long week! When I think back on Monday, I'm like, "That was still this past week?!" It wasn't a bad week by any means. It was just a very full week.

I didn't work on Monday, and since it was cold and snowy, I opted to go swimming for my cardio. After that, I went to a few stores, including Seagull (formerly Seagull Book, formerly Seagull Book and Tape), where I was happy to see my book on display. You're lucky when they display the book with the cover out instead of just the spine. You're not so lucky when the discount sticker is covering your name.

I was supposed to be off on Tuesday, because This Is the Place ended last Saturday. But there were first-graders having a field trip class in the barbershop, so I had to go back, get a uniform again, and teach the class. I had a feeling that was going to happen. But I was a little stressed out, because there was a traffic light that was out, meaning I barely made it in time, and they gave me clothes with literally no pockets. (I didn't have time to get different ones because I was running late.) It was a bitter January day two days before Halloween.

Then on Wednesday, I drove to Park City to resume my position as an editor for the Sundance Film Festival! I didn't really care for the job last year, but I can make ten times the money I would make if I stayed at This Is the Place for the winter. But I'm feeling more optimistic about Sundance this year. Since I already did it, I know what to expect. Happiness is a state of mind. And last year I felt like I didn't fit in with Sundance people, but now I am Sundance people. We had an orientation meeting with many of the new hires, and I was the only one (of about a dozen) who was born and raised in Utah.

We have a new office building, and in most ways I like it better. It's roomier and has more windows. There is more parking, so I don't have to take the vanpool every day. (I will probably take it most days to save gas and to save the planet, but it's nice to know I have options.) It's closer to stores, restaurants, and other Sundance offices than last year's.

The best thing about last year's location was that it was directly next to a trailhead. I will miss that. But I have found some trailheads near the new office, though they look inferior. (I haven't been on them yet, because they're still snowy.)

The worst thing about the new office is the appalling lack of bathrooms. There is a single one-stall restroom on our floor. I think we might even share with other offices. I don't know who thought that was OK. Last year's office was smaller and had three restrooms, and even then sometimes they'd all be in use. We need to find the architect for the building and make sure no one ever hires them, if they think that's an acceptable office design. I have to go upstairs and walk through a different department to find one that isn't being used.

On Wednesday night, I finally submitted my application for grad school! Now I just need to follow up on my letters of recommendation.

Thursday, of course, was Halloween! We got to dress up at work, so I wore my Vector costume so I could go running during my breaks.

Ice under a bridge

What I don't like about Park City is that they encourage you not to drive, yet most neighborhoods don't have sidewalks, or at least don't have them on both sides of the road. It's very annoying.

Since it was Halloween, I decided to run through the cemetery that's right by the office.

I've been to a lot of old Mormon cemeteries. But Park City was a mining town, not a Mormon pioneer town, which meant there were more crosses than I'm used to.

 There was also a work Halloween party, which was OK.

Then I headed home for my own Halloween festivities! As I lit our jack-o-lanterns and watched them flicker, I couldn't help feeling nostalgic for trick-or-treating and thinking, "What a great holiday this is!"

Since it's no fun spending holidays alone, I invited some people to come over. We played the classic Telephone/Pictionary game with Halloween sentences and watched The Mummy from 1933. I like that movie: it's not just a person walking around in bandages, but the mummy pretends to be a modern person and has the ability to control people's minds. I think it's way creepier than it would have been with just a walking, wrapped-up corpse.

We had a half-dozen or so groups of trick-or-treaters. The first group had a random dog following them, and the dog came into our house! We're not dog people, so I found that a little annoying, but at least it was a nice dog. I told that story at work, and one of my coworkers said that when she was in college a kitten had followed some trick-or-treaters and went into her apartment, then settled down by the stove to sleep. They kept it for eight years. Her story is better than mine.

My Californian nephews are obsessed with plush toys called Squishmallows, which they call Fluffies. My nephews and I have little in common, so to connect with them, I get the holiday versions. So on Halloween night, I texted them a picture of my Halloween collection.

After I sent the text, my eleven-year-old nephew, Franklin, called me to commend me for my collection and to tell me about their adventures trick-or-treating. Then Nathaniel (nine) also talked to me about trick-or-treating. It was fun and nostalgic to hear their enthusiasm for this time-honored Halloween tradition (especially since they don't especially like holidays). It was a wonderful holiday. I got to bed late, but it was mostly worth it.

The drawback about getting to bed late was that I was super tired the next day. I have this problem where I will wake up in the middle of the night and stay awake for two hours. I used to wake up at 3:00 and stay awake until 5:00; more recently I've been waking up at 5:00 and staying awake until 7:00, which is also the time I have to get up. Ugh! (I think some of this problem comes from eating too much sugar, so I've cut down on sugar, if you can believe that.) Sometimes I wake up on my own, but sometimes things wake me up. I was not happy with how I was awakened this time.

My ward has a texting service to send out ward announcements. There is also this girl with autism and other issues who is in another ward, but she comes to a lot of our ward functions. ("She doesn't even go here!") At 5 a.m. on November 1, she joined our ward text group, and then she sent a text saying "Hi my name is [name]." (I don't know whether the whole ward got it, or if I got it because I'm still an admin for the group from when I was executive secretary.) What are you doing sending texts at 5:00 in the morning?! I didn't want to be awake for two hours because of that.

But I'm glad it's now Thanksgiving season, my favorite holiday. Poor neglected Thanksgiving. I still have to take down most of the Halloween stuff and put up Thanksgiving, but I did put up my outdoor decor.

On Saturday, since there's still snow on the ground, I ran to the Bountiful Temple from my house, 10.8 miles round trip. Often my knee starts hurting on this run, but I successfully made it without any knee pain! It might be time for some new shoes.

I know how essential it is that we have lots of snow. But I still want it all to melt so I can get some more trails in before winter officially gets here.

***
Now that Halloween is over, caramel apple is no longer part of pumpkinundation roundup, but candy corn and pumpkin still are. Pecan pie, apple pie, and other Thanksgiving flavors have also joined the mix.

I went to Cutler's for the first time ever and had this Pumpkin Spice Doodle. I think it was just a snickerdoodle with a pumpkin spice frosting. It was fine. 7/10.

Even though it wasn't yet Thanksgiving season, I also had the Cutler's Turkey and Stuffing Sandwich. I've had many similar sandwiches over the years, and this one was fine. 7/10.

Oh, Crumbl. Their cookies are amazing, but their seasonal selection should be so much better! One of their cookies this week was literally a sugar cookie with a single candy corn on top. Lamezy! (That's a combination of "lame" and "lazy.") I did have their Crumbl Caramel Apple Cookie. It was a good cookie, but not especially caramely or appley. 7/10.

 I was a bigger fan of the Crumbl Pumpkin Oreo Cookie. It was an Oreo cookie with pumpkin frosting. This one was creative and tasty. 8/10.

 I wasn't a big fan of Trader Joe's Butternut Squash Ravioli. I couldn't eat too much in one sitting. The squash filling was more sweet than savory, and I thought it clashed. 4/10.

 I had the ravioli with Trader Joe's Autumnal Harvest Creamy Pasta Sauce, which has never been my favorite. It didn't work so well with the squash ravioli, but I know it's better on other pasta. 6/10.

There is a new version of Kneaders Pumpkin Cheesecake. It used to be a pumpkin cheesecake. Now it's a plain cheesecake with a piece of pumpkin cake on top. I like the old version better, especially since I'm not a big fan of plain cheesecake. 6/10.

I had to travel back in time to try these Pumpkin Spice M&M's. Back in 2013 and 2014, this was a Target-exclusive flavor. It's just chocolate with spices in it. My mom found this bag in a downstairs trash pile that somehow wasn't thrown away for five or six years. And lurking inside the bag was a single remaining M&M. It was so old that it tasted like cheap candy (like R. M. Palmer), but it wasn't really rancid. 6/10. (That's my rating for how I remember it in its prime, not for the mummified version. Now they have White Chocolate Pumpkin Pie M&M's, which are better, but I haven't had them this season.)

At the work Halloween party were these cupcakes. I'm pretty sure they're Caramel Apple Cupcakes (6/10) and Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes (6/10). I'm not a big fan of store-bought cupcakes. These were just vanilla cupcakes with flavored icing.

Now that apple pie is in season, I had a Larry's and Larry's Apple Pie Complete Cookie. It had dried apple bits and spices in the dense cookie, which has low sugar (for a cookie) and lots of protein and carbs. It's fine for what it is. 6/10.

In Park City, I had this Yodipity Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt. It had a nice pumpkin and spice flavor. Remember when froyo was all the rage in the early 2010s? I understand why it's diminished. 7/10.

I waited until November 1 to pull out my Trader Joe's Turkey and Stuffing Seasoned Kettle Chips. They're not especially turkey-ey, but I still like them. I don't eat that many potato chips, so it's always nice to have a seasonal flavor that interests me. 7/10.

Yasso Pecan Pie Frozen Greek Yogurt Bars are excellent. 8/10.

Since I ran almost eleven miles (and it was fast Sunday), I was entitled to go to lunch and have a Pizza Pie Cafe Pumpkin Dessert Pizza. It's basically a sugar cookie with spices. It's not terribly pumpkiny, but I like it. 7/10.

 I also had their Pizza Pie Cafe Apple Dessert Pizza because it seemed close enough to apple pie. This one is a regular pizza crust with apple pie filling. It's fine. 6/10.

And after that, I could even justify having a Dairy Queen Pumpkin Pie Blizzard, which has pumpkin ice cream, graham bits, whipped cream, and nutmeg. One of the best pumpkin items out there. 10/10.

I have not tried these Trader Joe's Turkey & Cranberry Recipe Dog Treats, so I cannot rate them. I only gave them to my sister's dog, Buddy. He ate them, just like he eats everything. I can't decide whether I want to try one myself. The pumpkin one last year was bad enough, but this one has turkey in it.